Another week, another abbreviated introductory paragraph. You know what you’re here for, get on down and listen to our staff picks.
Full of Hell “Transmuting Chemical Burns”
The Ocean City Devils are back with another brutally good grindcore-adjacent release. “Transmuting Chemical Burns” brings Full of Hell’s signature sonic mix to the forefront, alternating gritty screams and your more classic Cookie Monster vocals. Even though the track is short (well, long for grind) it makes hell of an impression with the driving tom-heavy drums for maximum thrashing. Wear your protective gear in the pit for this one.
Justice “The End (feat. Thundercat)”
Gods of the French Touch movement Justice have struck gold again with their recent release “Hyperdrama,” an album chock-full of excellent collaborators and already iconic dance numbers (and for some reason a music video of robots fucking, but we’ll let you Google that one yourselves). “The End” closes things out on a reflective and slightly somber note, complete with lyrics and vocals by everyone’s favorite “bass wizard” Thundercat. Play this track while driving out of a dystopian nightmare city as it burns in your rearview.
Mdou Moctar “Funeral for Justice”
Nigerian desert blues quartet Mdou Moctar is absolutely crushing it in the indie festival circuits lately, and the title track off of their newest album “Funeral for Justice” makes it instantly clear why. The album starts things off strong with a funky syncopated and almost mathy guitar riff over super catchy gang vocals, and a locked-in groove meant for dancing. We actually recommend listening to the record in full for a look into an album of the year contender. No pithy commentary here, just good, politically interesting and relevant music.
Umbra Vitae “Velvet Black”
Umbra Vitae is, technically speaking, a metal supergroup, which is a concept we kind of hadn’t thought about much, but considering members of Converge, Hatebreed, Red Chord, and Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats are present, we really should have. Their recent single “Velvet Black” is a sludgy, growly track reminiscent of Type O Negative with a little extra death-doom oomph, if that makes sense, and boy, does it deliver. We’re looking forward to making an FMV with this track for a really terrible 2000s vampire movie.
Mount Kimbie “Empty and Silent (feat. King Krule)”
London’s newly-minted quartet Mount Kimbie took a hard turn into indie rock from their previous electronic work, and the change is so completely seamless you’d have thought they’d always sounded this way. “Empty and Silent” has a dreamy, kind of wistful quality reminiscent of Sonic Youth’s chiller tracks, perfect for an early morning tube ride or a quietly depressing smoke break. King Krule’s disaffected baritone certainly adds to the overwhelming Britishness of it all, and that’s a good thing, for once.
Planet Booty “SXFNK”
In case you need to take a quick break from listening to the same three niche sub-genres all day, look no further than the Bay Area’s soul funk machines Planet Booty. Their first single in two years is so relentlessly, deliciously horny (including an actual horn section) that you might have to excuse yourself from your desk to head to the restroom to “appreciate” it in full. “SXFNK” sounds like if Zapp and Tower of Power did a ton of blow, wrote this song, and then had an orgy afterwards. We’re happy to just watch, if they’re cool with that.
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